Odorizzi (blister) exits; Twins' 'pen fuels win

Jake Odorizzi just can’t catch a break this season.

Nearly a month after Odorizzi's last start was cut short when he was hit by a comebacker that sent him to the injured list, the Twins right-hander's first outing off the IL also met an early end on Wednesday night against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field, when he exited during the fourth inning of an effective start with a blister on his right middle finger that split during the game.

As has been the case throughout the season, the Twins’ depth rose to the occasion. This time, it was rookie Cody Stashak who entered the game cold against one of the best offenses in baseball and delivered 2 1/3 perfect innings of relief. Minnesota got home runs from Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sanó, and that was more than enough as Odorizzi, Stashak and the Twins’ bullpen held the Sox to two hits in a 5-1 win.

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“It was a colossal effort,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “Every guy we turned to was fantastic. Jake started it out and threw the ball very well. Obviously, just tough, just a tough situation where he’s dealing with things that are beyond his control, but he went out there and pitched well. And then every guy we turned to went out there and attacked hitters, pitched in the zone, forced the action.”

Minnesota now trails Chicago by two games in the American League Central. It has a magic number of three to clinch a postseason berth.

With time ticking down toward the end of the regular season, the Twins were counting on a healthy and effective Odorizzi to show his readiness for the postseason. He looked to be firmly on the right track before this latest setback, and Stashak and the bullpen picked up where he left off, as Minnesota retired the final 18 Chicago batters.

Odorizzi got six swing-and-misses through 3 2/3 innings as he held the White Sox to only a José Abreu solo homer and Tim Anderson single alongside a walk and catcher’s interference. His fastball averaged 93 mph, per Statcast, which was in line with his 2019 All-Star season, and he had three strikeouts. He generated the contact in the air typically indicative of his strong performances until the issue with his pitching hand appeared to flare up during the third.

“My one goal today was to come out, set the tone, put the team on my back a little bit, just as I did last year, and get us back on track,” Odorizzi said. “I felt like pretty much the entire game, I was able to do that against a really good offense over there. I was me again, and just one pitch sets you back, which is really frustrating for me.

“I'm not going to let this affect me, get me down. I was me again tonight, and that's what I take away from tonight. Stuff was good. Swings and misses were there against a really good offense. I just need to heal up and get ready to go.”

On Odorizzi's final pitch to James McCann with two outs in the fourth, his blister split, leaving a cut on the fleshy part of his right middle finger. He was removed from the game after throwing 66 pitches, including 40 strikes.

It was only Odorizzi’s fourth start of the season due to an assortment of maladies, starting with the intercostal strain at the end of Summer Camp that sidelined him for the first two weeks of the regular season. He made three starts in mid-August before he was hit by an Alex Gordon batted ball on Aug. 21 that sent him to the IL for another three weeks with a chest contusion.

“It has kind of not been his season, frankly,” right-hander Tyler Duffey said. “It’s been one thing after another.”

“I honestly don't know what to tell you,” Odorizzi said. “It's been tough. When I've been out there, I felt like, especially today, I felt the best I've felt this year. Got swings and misses, everything that I could have wanted, and to have something that I've never had happen to me before, it's just one more kick to the groin.”

Odorizzi is hopeful that he’ll be able to make his next start, but neither he nor Baldelli could guarantee that would be the case, as the Twins will need to monitor the injury day by day to make sure it heals first. Still, Odorizzi took Wednesday’s short-lived success as a sign that he’s ready for October -- and he’s already looking forward to healing up and overcoming this latest barrier.

“My focus is being ready for the playoffs and being able to do what I can do for this team,” Odorizzi said. “I know what type of pitcher I am. I don't need to go out and prove that I deserve to be in the starting rotation. I just need to be healthy and get healthy with all these weird things that happened to me. Today was a lot of positives.

“I'll tell you this, though: I'm going to work my [behind] off to do everything I can to be back as quickly as I can, because I want to help this team. I believe in this team. I think I can give us an extra edge that we need going into the playoffs."